021001, 0050hr, illinois time.

dinner with alvin was great. i was dressed in this pink tank top, black cardigan, and a red/pink bias-stripes skirt. this outfit made me quite happy, cos i felt so sweet and feminine in it. been dressed in crap the past weekend, cos i was cold most of the time, and couldn't be bothered that that oversized sweater didn't look too complimentary. the weather today was beautiful, so i took the opportunity to wear a skirt.

about half an hour before we were supposed to leave for the restaurant, while taking a shower, i suddenly panicked about going out with alvin for dinner. it just felt really weird, cos for one, alvin's never quite been the restaurant-trying type of guy. second, we've never hung out alone, other than when we're doing our homework. god, what if the conversation gets stale during dinner! i was also quite uncomfortable with him paying, me dressing nice and all that. seems to insinuate a date setting rather than a normal buddy dinner out. but i guess i was worrying for nothing, conversation was great. once we actually started talking, everything felt more neutral, more natural and therefore more comfortable.

the service at ned kelly's needs much improvement though. the last time i was there with liwei and yahui, i already thought the service sucked. this time, they actually got the orders completely wrong. alvin ordered the new york strip, well done. whereas i chose the tazmanian strip, medium. first they served him the tazmanian, which wasn't that bad, mistakes like this happens all the time. but then i noticed that my steak was too well done for my liking. i just took a mental note to order it medium-rare the next time round or something. till i caught a glimpse of alvin's, and i saw pink meat. argh! i asked alvin for a small chunk of his. sure enough, my tazmanian strip was well done, and his new york strip was medium! god, how the heck do you make such a mistake! sheesh! i was quite pissed, i probably should have made a big fuss about it. but alvin seemed fine with it, and he offered to change his with mine. since i'm not much of a fussy meat eater anyway, i just let it go. but note to self, not to ever go to ned kelly's for anything other than the skillet cookie. plus, our server looked so depressed and grim faced half the time, it really wasn't a good restaurant experience.

tomorrow, i'm having dinner with tk and shaun, at mand wok, for some good chinese food.

* * *

first day as a non-vegetarian..let's see, i finally managed to donate my blood away! hahaha...took some additional testing before red cross decided to let me donate, phew. i even received this complimentary t-shirt from the red cross, that says, Blood Donor on the front, backdropped against a red drop of blood. haha...frankly, it's hideous, but i took it anyway. heh.

i should really go to sleep now. though i should also be doing my GIS assignment. shit. what should i do...what should i do...